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The kanji Rudy quoted in post #20 of this thread seem to be as Demetrio stated in English in post #22 , literally. It is interesting that these kanji are the ones that were framed and hung on the wall of New York Aikikai above O Sensei's portrait photo at the front of the mat area, in the place of honor... (Sorry, I haven't been to NY in a long time) and probably still are..

Wow, thanks! We've simply got to go there for a visit soon. ( My husband Chuck and I have been saying that for years.)

The whole area looks really beautiful now.

Yamada Sensei taught a special class at Ray Farinato's in 2003, saw me in the audience and said "do I know you?" and he was laughing because I'd been away so long. Well, we've started training again, in the driveway, and plan to visit NY Aikikai and Ray's dojo Aikikai of Fairfield County as soon as Chuck gets some time off from work...

You have to consider "Peace Poles inscribed with the message, May Peace Prevail On Earth, is a trademark icon of The Peace Pole Projectï¿½"

You have to buy yours via World Peace Prayer Society online shop.

That's not true at all, although you can order poles from them.

From their website:

Quote:

A Peace Pole is an internationally-recognized symbol of the hopes and dreams of the entire human family, standing vigil in silent prayer for peace on earth. Each Peace Pole bears the message May Peace Prevail on Earth in different languages on each of its four or six sides. There tens of thousands of Peace Poles in nearly every country in the world dedicated as monuments to peace.

Your organization is invited to plant a Peace Pole at each of your centers to highlight the important work you do in many countries to bring about world peace through inner peace. Your Peace Poles would symbolize your mission and simultaneously link your work with that of people of all faiths and nationalities worldwide who are striving for a better world. Wonâ€™t you join this great network of peace?

Your Peace Poles may be purchased or hand-crafted locally, displaying the languages that are meaningful to your organization. Each Peace Pole should be dedicated in a ceremony that can commemorate a special occasion (such as the founding of your organization or the annual UN-designated International Day of Peace). The prayers offered at your Peace Pole dedication will help to activate the worldwide network of prayers for peace.

Quite nice; you've moved me to me thinking about the wood I'll use for the prayer pole.

Regards,

RT

Of course, if you have the Japanese carved on a jo and/or bokken, you will have the best of both worlds: a pole or implement you can actually use, as well as pray with.

My profession is to explore cultural contexts and some might find the discussion in Robert Kinsala's book of interest. The book, published in 1999 by Hawaii U P, is Prophets of Peace: Pacificism and Cultural Identity in Japan's New Religions. The discussion of Goi and the Byakko Shinkokai starts on p. 57. Morihei Ueshiba and aikido are not mentioned, even once.

In Hiroshima, we approach world peace with a certain realism. There are many, many peace groups, all competing for membership. Many of these have links with Japan 'new' religions, like Byakko. Although in Japanese, the following website gives a wide overview of what there is to choose from: http://park8.wakwak.com/~kasa/index.html
There are links to various websites.

The 'peace industry' goes into top gear around August 6, when there is a huge ceremony at the Peace Museum. The organization that runs the Peace Memorial Museum is the Peace Culture Foundation: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/hpc...ish/index.html
(If you scroll through the website, you will find my name listed among the Directors.)

The point I am making here is that here in Hiroshima, world peace is invariably tied to an ideology, such as a religion like Byakko Shinkokai, or a political viewpoint, such as the abolition of nuclear weapons. So, when people come to my door asking me if I support world peace--and I say yes, of course, this is immediately followed by a request to join their religion. And, yes, all the founders are very holy people, like Mr Goi, who have achieved enlightenment.

So, back to 'the art of world peace.' It is a short and pithy phrase in English, but hard to put into Japanese. The Byakko Peace Prayer does not quite do it.

The difference was that they were arranged horizontally, right to left in the Japanese order, if I remember correctly, rather than vertically, as in Japanese books. For those not familiar with them, Japanese books are read with the pages in order from the right side of the book, ending with the left, the reverse from English language books.....

Hello Diana,

The reality is a little more complicated. Sure, Japanese books are arranged with the pages numbered with the spine of the book on the right, not on the left. However, the writing on the pages is printed vertically, not horizontally. The horizontal arrangement from right to left was more common in Morihei Ueshiba's day than it is now. I have seen it only on the sides of trucks and cars, like taxis. For example, my local taxi company, つばめタクシー (Tsubame Takushii = Tsubame [Swallow] Taxis), sometimes has ーシクタめばつ on the (right) driver's side of the car. In Roman script, this can can be written as i-ihs-uk-aT em-ab-usT, or, better, shii-ku-Ta me-ba-Tsu.

Of course, if you have the Japanese carved on a jo and/or bokken, you will have the best of both worlds: a pole or implement you can actually use, as well as pray with.

My profession is to explore cultural contexts and some might find the discussion in Robert Kinsala's book of interest. The book, published in 1999 by Hawaii U P, is Prophets of Peace: Pacificism and Cultural Identity in Japan's New Religions. The discussion of Goi and the Byakko Shinkokai starts on p. 57. Morihei Ueshiba and aikido are not mentioned, even once.

In Hiroshima, we approach world peace with a certain realism. There are many, many peace groups, all competing for membership. Many of these have links with Japan 'new' religions, like Byakko. Although in Japanese, the following website gives a wide overview of what there is to choose from: http://park8.wakwak.com/~kasa/index.html
There are links to various websites.

The 'peace industry' goes into top gear around August 6, when there is a huge ceremony at the Peace Museum. The organization that runs the Peace Memorial Museum is the Peace Culture Foundation: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/hpc...ish/index.html
(If you scroll through the website, you will find my name listed among the Directors.)

The point I am making here is that here in Hiroshima, world peace is invariably tied to an ideology, such as a religion like Byakko Shinkokai, or a political viewpoint, such as the abolition of nuclear weapons. So, when people come to my door asking me if I support world peace--and I say yes, of course, this is immediately followed by a request to join their religion. And, yes, all the founders are very holy people, like Mr Goi, who have achieved enlightenment.

So, back to 'the art of world peace.' It is a short and pithy phrase in English, but hard to put into Japanese. The Byakko Peace Prayer does not quite do it.

Best wishes,

Hello Goldsbury Sensei,

I think Kinsala's book may deliberately exclude OSensei's Aikido because in World War II aikido was clearly not a pacifist activity. Even decades after that war, when the first generation of shihans were being sent out to Europe and America to open dojos, the emphasis was on martial arts not pacifism--at least that is my impression. I do not believe aikido qualifies as a new religion dedicated to pacifism even though many of its practitioners will at times try to make it sound that way.

I've never been to Japan but my sense of the new religions that have sprung up there and which are active in Hiroshima is that many of their promoters are deeply committed to remembering those who were lost. As well, I feel they are sincerely committed to the cause of "world peace" and believe they are in a unique position to foster that peace--both motives resulting from the experience of Japan before, during and after World War II. Competition among these groups and the commercializtion of these activities is not surprising given what is understood of human behavior but you offer a very illuminating look at the culture which prevails outside the doors to your dojo and I thank you for it.

I've spent some time in Jerusalem during Easter--Passover holy days. The old city is often considered one of the holiest and most religious sites on the planet. God's themepark, I might say, at the height of "the season", is complete with lines of tour buses and its arteries are clogged by long traffic jams and pilgrims on parade. Hawkers attempt to sell you panoramic posters of the downtown mosques, the orthodox churches, and the walls of the last temple. If anyone tried to stop me on the street to ask me, "Are you Jewish?" I was ready to answer with "Who wants to know?" and just keep on walking. When Jehovah's Witnesses came to my door back home once and asked, "Are you optimistic about the future?" I answered "Yes I am but I don't put it in religious terms".

As for: The Art of World Peace, kanji?
It's now become a koan,
it doesn't require translation but thanks for your advice.